Cannes: Will Ferrell to Be 'Tom's Dad' for Lasse Hallstrom

Johnny Depp's shingle is a co-producer on the comedy from the Swedish director.

Will Ferrell is set star in Tom's Dad, an upcoming comedy from Oscar-nominated Swedish director Lasse Hallstrom (The Cider House Rules).

Ferrell will play Arthur, a struggling nightclub performer in 1960s Nevada who gets saddled with his estranged 12-year-old son after his ex-wife leaves on a three-week trip. Arthur is forced to try and re-connect with the boy.

Tom's Dad is being produced by Joni Levin and Keith Clarke of Point Blank Productions, John Ptak of Arsenal and Christi Dembrowski and Johnny Depp through their Infinitum Nihil shingle.

Martin Casella (One Night Stand) wrote the original screenplay to Tom's Dad with revisions by Clarke. The film is set to being shooting early next year.

Fortitude International, is handling foreign sales on the project, with UTA repping domestic.

Ferrell is coming off the Warner Bros.’ comedy Get Hard and will next appear alongside Mark Wahlberg in Daddy's Home for Paramount. He is currently shooting Zoolander 2. Ferrell is repped by UTA and Mosaic. Hallstrom is repped by UTA.